THE  ELECTIVE  FRANCHISE  IN  WISCONSIN. 


V?, 


/ 


-A  ELECTIVE  FRANCHISE  IN 

1  — - 


.  \ 


BY  FLORENCE  ELIZABETH  BAKER,  A.  B. 


[Paper  presented  at  the  Forty- First  Annual  Meeting  of  the  State  Historical  Society  of 

Wisconsin,  December  14, 1893.] 

The  early  history  of  the  elective  franchise  in  Wisconsin  is 
so  intimately  connected  with  its  history  in  the  other  states  of 
the  Northwest  Territory,  that  it  is  scarcely  necessary  to  re¬ 
write  it  here.  Her  fifty-four  thousand  square  miles  of  terri¬ 
tory,  with  its  sparse  population  of  fur- traders  and  lead 
miners,  were  governed  in  turn  by  Indiana  (1800),  Illinois 
(1809),  and  finally  by  Michigan  (1818);  when  Illinois  took  her 
place  among  the  states  of  the  union.'  Still  in  those  early 
days  occasional  mention  may  be  found  in  some  pioneer 
newspaper  of  the  part  that  what  is  now’  Wisconsin  played  in 
an  election.  In  June  of  1825,  we  discover  a  Detroit  paper 
stopping  its  press  “  to  announce  that  the  schooner  Harriet 
arrived  this  morning  from  Green  Bay  and  Mackinac,  bring¬ 
ing  the  intelligence  that  Mr.  Biddle  received  eighty-two 
votes  at  Green  Bay  and  forty-two  on  the  Island  of 
Mackinac.  Mr.  Wing  received  at  the  former  place  thirty- 
four  and  at  the  latter  eighteen  —  and  Mr.  Richard  two  at 
Mackinac.  ”  ^ 

In  1530  the  counties  of  Brown,  Crawford,  Chippewa, 
and  Iowa,  which  included  part  of  Wisconsin  Territory,  but 
were  then  in  Michigan  Territory,  Avere  exempted  from  the 
operation  of  the  law  requiring  freehold  security  to  be 
given  for  any  purpose,  or  as  a  qualification  for  office.' 

'  XJ.  S.  Statutes  at  Large^  ii.,  pp.  58,  514;  iii.,  p.  428.  See  also  Thwaites’s 
“Boundaries  of  Wisconsin,”  Wis.  Hist.  Colls.,  xi. 

^Detroit  Gazette  [June  14],  1825. 

^Michigan  Territorial  Laws,  iii.,  p.  831. 


1 14  WISCONSIN  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

With  the  organizatioD,  of  the  Territory,  however,  the 
separate  existence  of  Wisconsin  began.  The  agitation 
looking  towards  this  result  had  been  begun  in  congress  by 
.James  Duane  Doty  as  early  as  1824,  but  not  until  April 
20,  1836,  did  the  bill  pass.^  It  went  into  effect  the  4th  of 
July  following.  By  the  terms  of  the  bill,  the  executive 
power  was  vested  in  a  governor,  who  was  subject  to  re¬ 
moval  by  the  president.  He  had  the  usual  powers  of  a 
Territorial  governor,  and  was  also  superintendent  of  Indian 
affairs.  There  was  also  a  Territorial  secretary.  The  leg¬ 
islative  assembly,  which  was  to  consist  of  a  council  and 
house  of  representatives,  was  elected  by  the  qualified  voters. 
At  the  first  election,  every  free  white  male  citizen  of  the 
United  States,  above  the  age  of  twenty-one  years,  who  was 
an  inhabitant  of  the  Territory,  was  entitled  to  vote,  and 
was  eligible  to  any  office  in  the  Territory.  The  qualifica¬ 
tions  at  subsequent  elections  were  to  be  decided  by  the 
legislative  assembly,  provided,  that  the  right  of  suffrage 
should  be  exercised  only  by  citizens  of  the  United  States. 
All  township  and  county  officers,  except  judicial  officers, 
justices  of  the  peace,  sheriffs,  and  clerks  of  court,  were 
elected  by  the  people.  The  chief  justice  and  his  asso¬ 
ciates,  the  attorney- general,  and  marshal,  were  appointed 
by  the  president;  and  all  other  civil  offices  not  otherwise 
provided  for  were  filled  by  the  governor.- 

The  first  election  was  held  on  the  second  Monday  of  Oc¬ 
tober,  1836,  and  although  the  time  intervening  between 
the  governor's  proclamation  and  the  election  was  barely  a 
month,  the  first  campaign  excited  considerable  interest. 
The  legislature  elected  at  that  time  met  at  Belmont,  in  the 
present  county  of  La  Fayette,  later  in  the  month.  It  is  not 
until  1838  that  we  find  recorded  ‘A.n  act  providing  for,  and 
regulating,  general  elections  in  this  Territory.  ”  The 
twelfth  section  thereof  prescribes  the  qualifications  of  an 
elector:  He  must  be  tw^enty-one  years  old;  a  free,  wdiite, 
male  citizen,  or  a  foreigner  duly  naturalized;  and  must 


^  U.  S.  Statutes  at  Large,  v.,  pp.  10-16. 
^  Ibid.,  pp.  11-13. 


THE  ELECTIVE  FRANCHISE  IN  WISCONSIN.  II5 

have  had  a  six  months’  residence  in  the  Territory.  The 
manner  of  voting  was  prescribed  by  section  ten:  The 
elector  must  hand  a  folded  ballot  to  the  judges,  “  who 
shall  deposit  the  same  immediately  into  a  general  ballot- 
box,  prepared  for  that  purpose,  and  the  clerk  shall  take 
dowm  the  name  of  all  such  voters;”  the  polls  were  to  be 
opened  at  nine  and  closed  at  six,  but  the  closing  of  the 
i:)olls  might  be  postponed  until  nine,  if  the  judges  of  elec¬ 
tion  deemed  such  course  necessary  to  receive  all  the 
votes.  ^ 

During  the  first  few  years  of  Territorial  history  loarty 
organization  does  not  appear  to  have  played  an  important 
part  in  the  elections.  In  1838,  however,  we  find  James 
Duane  Doty,  who  was  nominated  by  the  citizens  of  Brown  • 
county  as  an  independent  candidate  for  Territorial  dele¬ 
gate,  writing  thus  to  his  fellow-citizens:  "I  hope,  there¬ 
fore,  my  friends  will  permit  me  to  decline  the  acceptance 
of  their  nomination  as  the  nomination  of  a  single  county, 
and  to  express  my  desire,  if  it  accords  with  their  wishes, 
that  they  should  submit  my  name  to  a  general  convention, 
and  to  tender  them  my  thanks  for  the  honor  they  have 
•Tdone  me.  ”  ^ 

^  In  accordance  with  this  suggestion,  a  convention  of  del- 
^egates  from  several,  but  not  all,  of  the  counties,  met  at 
^ladison  on  the  29th  of  August,  and  regularly  nominated 
^oty,  his  opponent  being  George  W.  Jones,  who  had  been 
placed  in  the  field  by  public  meetings  held  at  Milwaukee 
and  Mineral  Point  the  11th  of  July.  Thus  Wisconsin  had 
seen  the  starting  of  its  party  machinery. 

The  next  year  national  politics  entered  into  the  local 
s  elections.  The  first  demonstration  was  a  democratic  pri- 
naary  held  at  Mineral  Point,  which  called  on  the  dem- 
^  ocrats  of  the  several  counties  to  organize,  and  ”  to  cor¬ 
respond  frequently  with  each  other  to  promote  general 
harmony  and  concert.  ”  ^  On  the  18th  of  June  a  “Territo- 

*  Lawn  of  Winconsbi,  18.33 -183S,  p.  404. 

^Strong,  History  of  Wisconsin  Territory,  p.  270, 

^  Ibid.,  p.  291. 


Il6  WISCONSIN  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

rial  Convention  ” — the  result  of  a  people’s  movement  in 
Brown  and  Dane  counties  —  met  at  Madison;  and  the  next 
day,  at  the  same  place,  the  “  Democratic  Territorial  Con¬ 
vention,”  the  outcome  of  the  Mineral  Point  meeting.  The 
first  nominated  Judge  Doty  for  delegate,  and  the  second 
Byron  Kilbourn.  Each  of  these  conventions  expressed  its 
opinions  of  the  other  in  a  series  of  resolutions,  which  at 
the  present  date  appear  more  ridiculous  than  dignified  or 
forceful. ' 

Hardly  was  the  Territory  organized  when  an  agita¬ 
tion  for  state  government  was  begun.  In  his  messages  to 
the  legislatures  of  1838-39,  and  1839-40,  Governor  Dodge 
recommended  that  the  question  be  submitted  to  the  people.^ 
The  three  succeeding  years  it  was  defeated  by  overwhelm¬ 
ing  majorities,  and  the  next  two  years  the  bills  for  sub¬ 
mission  were  defeated  in  the  legislature.  In  connection 
with  the  election  of  1844,  negro  suffrage  was  for  the  first 
time  brought  to  public  attention.  The  petition  of  six 
colored  men  was  presented  in  the  council,  praying  that  the 
right  of  suffrage  be  extended  to  all  persons  holding  real 
estate  in  the  Territory,  or  taxable  property  to  the  value 
of  one  hundred  dollars.^  It  was  referred  to  a  select  com¬ 
mittee,  who  reported  an  amendment  to  the  bill  regulating 
elections,  which  amendment  failed  of  adoption.  In  the 
house  a  similar  petition  was  presented,  and  referred  to  a 
committee,  which  reported  that  ‘‘  it  is  not  expedient  to 
legislate  on  the  subject.”  ^ 

During  the  year  1845  the  fact  that  the  people  wanted  a 
state  government  became  apparent,  and  early  in  1846  the 
preliminary  measures  were  passed  by  congress  and  the 
Territorial  legislature.  On  the  5th  of  January,  1846,  the 
legislature  convened  at  Madison.  Governor  Dodge  sub¬ 
mitted  his  message,^  and  as  much  of  it  as  related  co  state 

^  Ihid.,  p.  293. 

^  House  Jour.,  Wis.  Terr.  Legis.,  1838,  p.  6;  1^39,  p.  9. 

^Council  Jour.,  TtTs.  Terr.  Legis.,  1844-1815,  p.  230. 

^  House  Jour.,  TTTs.  Terr.  Legis.,  1843-44,  pp.  167,  326. 

^  Id.,  1846,  p.  12. 


THE  ELECITVE  FRANXHISE  IN  WISCONSIN.  II7 

government  was  referred  to  a  committee/  which  submitted 
an  able  report  in  favor  of  early  state  formation,  accompanied 
by  a  bill  for  the  purpose.-  This  bill,  amended  in  some  of 
its  details,  became  a  law.  Under  its  provisions,  “every 
white  male  inhabitant  above  the  age  of  twenty- one  years, 
who  shall  have  resided  in  the  Territory  six  months  next 
previous  thereto,  and  who  shall  either  be  a  citizen  of  the 
United  States,  or  shall  have  filed  his  declaration  of  inten¬ 
tion  to  become  such  according  to  the  laws  of  the  United 
States  on  the  subject  of  naturalization,  ”  ^  was  authorized  to 
vote  for  or  against  the  formation  of  a  state  government  on 
the  first  Monday  of  April,  1846.  If  the  majority  were  for 
state  government,  the  governor  was  to  make  an  apportion¬ 
ment  of  delegates  among  the  several  counties  for  a  con¬ 
vention  to  form  a  state  constitution.^  The  delegates  having 
been  duly  elected  were  to  meet  at  the  capital  on  the  first 
Monday  of  October,  with  full  power  to  form  a  constitu¬ 
tion,  which  should  be  submitted  to  the  people  for  ratifica¬ 
tion,  in  such  manner  and  at  such  time  as  the  convention 
should  prescribe.^ 

The  vote  of  the  people  was  about  six  to  one  in  favor  of 
state  government,®  and  accordingly  the  constitutional  con¬ 
vention  of  1846  assembled.  Among  its  members  were  many 
who  later  obtained  prominence  in  local  affairs,  and  some 
who  are  not  unknown  throughout  the  United  States.^  After 
the  usual  organization  and  preliminary  business  there 
were  appointed  twenty-two  committees.  The  report  of  the 
oommittee  on  suffrage  and  the  elective  franchise  was  the 
second  to  engage  the  attention  of  the  delegates.®  Unfor¬ 
tunately  the  debates  on  the  suffrage  were  in  the  committee 

*  Ibid.,  pp.  29,  32. 

^  Council  Jour.,  Wis.  Terr.  Legis.,  1846,  pp.  44,  333. 

^  Laws  of  Wisconsin,  1846,  pp.  5-12,  sec.  1. 

*  Ibid.,  sec.  11. 

®  Ibid.,  sec.  16. 

®  Council  Jour.,  Wis.  Terr.  Legis.,  Oct.,  1847,  p.  60. 

'  See  Tenney  and  Atwood,  Fathers  of  Wisconsin,  containing  biograph¬ 
ical  sketches  of  members  of  the  two  constitutional  conventions. 

^  Jour.  Const.  Conv.,  1846,  pp.  18,  19,  29. 


Il8  WISCONSIN  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

of  the  whole,  and  no  official  reports  of  them  are  to  be  had. 
AVe  may,  however,  rely  on  these  statements  of  Moses  M. 
Strong,  one  of  the  members  of  the  convention,  and  author 
of  the  History  of  ^yisconsin  Territory. 

“  In  view  of  the  opposition  and  excited  feeling  which 
had  been  exhibited  to  the  acts  of  the  legislative  assembly 
conferring  upon  unnaturalize  I  foreigners  the  right  of  vot¬ 
ing  for  or  against  state  government,  and  for  delegates  to 
the  convention,  it  would  seem  reasonable  to  have  expected 
some  exhibitions  of  that  feeling  in  the  convention. 

"  The  article  [on  suffrage  and  the  elective  franchise] ,  in 
that  respect,  only  required  the  declaration  of  intention  as 
a  qualification  for  the  right  of  suffrage.  And,  although  there 
might  have  been,  in  committee  of  the  whole,  some  attempt 
to  restrict  the  right  to  citizens,  yet  if  there  was,  it  was  so 
feebly  sustained  that  it  was  never  renewed  in  the  conven¬ 
tion,  where  the  ayes  and  noes  could  be  had. 

“  The  principal  controversy  in  the  discussion  of  this 
article  was  upon  the  subject  of  negro  suffrage. 

“  This  arose,  in  the  first  instance,  upon  the  proposition  of 
Mr.  [Charles  M.]  Baker  [of  Walworth  county],  for  a  separate 
submission  of  an  article  giving  the  right  of  suffrage  to 
colored  male  citizens.  The  proposition  was  discussed  at 
great  length,  and  defeated  by  a  vote  of  47  to  51. 

"  The  article  was  then  adopted  substantially  as  reported 
by  the  committee,  except  that  voting  by  ballot  was  substi¬ 
tuted  for  a  viva  voce  vote,  as  recommended  by  the  com¬ 
mittee.  ”  ^ 

A  resolution  was  afterwards  introduced,  providing  for 
the  separate  submission  of  a  distinct  article  in  accordance 
with  Mr.  Baker's  proposition,  and  this  was  adopted.^ 

The  work  of  the  convention  was  finished  December  16, 
1846,  and  the  proposed  constitution  was  submitted  to  the 
people  on  the  first  Tuesday  of  April,  1847.  It  was  rejected 
by  a  majority  of  more  than  six  thousand  in  a  total  of  thirty- 


^  Strong,  p.  521. 

^  Jour.  Const.  Conv.,  184G,  p.  355. 


THE  ELECTIVE  FRANCHISE  IN  WISCONSIN.  I  IQ 

four  thousand  votes.'  The  principal  objections  to  this  con¬ 
stitution  are  usually  given  under  five  heads. 

1.  The  article  in  relation  to  the  right  of  married  women, 

which  read  as  follows :  “  All  property,  real  or  personal, 

of  the  wife,  owned  by  her  at  the  time  of  her  marriage, 
by  gift,  devise,  descent,  or  otherwise  than  from  her  hus¬ 
band,  shall  be  her  separate  property.”  So  familiar  are  Ave 
now  with  such  provisions,  that  we  can  scarcely  imagine 
that  fifty  years  ago  this  one  aroused  most  violent  oppo¬ 
sition. 

2.  The  article  on  exemptions,  which  excepted  forty 
acres  of  land,  or  the  homestead  not  exceeding  in  value 
$1,000,  when  there  was  an  execution  or  forced  sale. 

3.  The  prohibition  of  banks  of  issue. 

4.  The  number  of  representatives  in  the  legislature  was 
considered  as  by  far  too  large. 

5.  The  judiciary  was  made  elective.^ 

To  these,  the  editors  of  the  Fathers  of  Wisconsin,  who 
were  newspaper  reporters  in  the  convention,  added  three 

1.  The  northwest  boundary  line  was  drawn  in  such  a 
manner  that  all  the  lower  valley  of  Lake  Pepin  and  St. 
Croix  river  would  have  been  given  to  Minnesota. 

2.  The. salaries  of  the  state  officers  were  made  unalter¬ 
able  by  the  legislature. 

3.  The  ‘‘fatal  objection”  of  the  omission  of  a  special 
article  on  corporations. 

Strong  says  that  the  democrats  opposed  the  article  on  the 
rights  of  married  women,  and  exemption,  and  the  whig 
leaders  the  restrictions  on  banking.* *  ‘‘The  contest  was 
the  most  able,  the  most  energetic,  and  the  most  exciting 
that  ever  occupied  the  attention  of  the  people,  and  in  many 
respects  its  like  has  not  been  seen  in  any  subsequent  con¬ 
troversy  in  the  state,  and  the  feelings  of  personal  antago¬ 
nism  between  members  of  the  dominant  democratic  party, 

^  Madison  Daily  Argus,  May  18, 1847.  ' 

^  Fathers  of  Wisconsin,  p.  387. 

®  Ibid.,  pp.  336-388,  note. 

*  Strong,  p,  552. 


120 


WISCONSIN  HSTORICAL  SOCIETY. 


who  were  arrayed  against  each  other,  were  such  that  their 
effects  were  not  easily  nor  for  a  long  time  eradicated.”^ 

It  will  be  remembered  that  the  proposition  concerning 
negro  suffrage  was  to  be  separately  submitted  to  the  peo¬ 
ple.  The  resolution  covering  this  matter  provided  that  if 
the  majority  of  the  people  of  Wisconsin  Territory  were  in 
favor  of  equal  suffrage  to  colored  persons,  the  following 
section  would  be  inserted  in  the  constitution ;  ‘‘All  male 
citizens  of  African  blood  possessing  the- qualifications  re¬ 
quired  by  the  first  section  of  the  article  on  ‘  suffrage  and  the 
elective  franchise’  shall  have  a  right  to  vote  for  all  officers 
and  be  eligible  to  all  offices  that  now  are  or  hereafter  may 
be  elective  by  the  people  after  the  adoption  of  this  constitu¬ 
tion.  The  measure  was  defeated  (ayes  7,664,  nays  14,615),^ 
and  the  result  strikingrlv  exhibits  the  infiuence  which  Wis- 

\ — /  t/ 

cousin’s  varied  population  has  had  on  her  legislation. 


The  accompanying  sketch-map  tells  the  story.  The  south¬ 
western  counties  possessed  a  large  southern  element.  In 

^  Ibid.,  p.  556. 

Jour.  Const.  Conv.,  1847-48,  p.  563. 

2  The  following  returns  of  the  vote  are  from  the  Madison  Daily  Argus. 


THE  ELECTIVE  FRANCHISE  IN  WISCONSIN. 


I2I 


these  counties  slaves  had  actually  been  held  on  this 
boasted  free  soil  -of  the  Northwest  Territory/  and  here 
we  find  the  largest  majorities  against  the  proposition  for 
negro  suffrage.  On  the  shore  of  Lake  Michigan  we  again 
find  opposition  to  the  admission  of  blacks  to  citizenship. 


for  May  16.  I  have  not  baea  able  to  find  rebaras  from  Calumet,  Chip¬ 
pewa,  and  La  Pointe  counties;  they  were  thinly  settled,  and  possibly 
no  vote  was  taken  there: 


Official  returns  of  the  vote  on  the  constitution  and  negro  suffrage  for  the 

election  of  April,  1847 : 


Constitution. 

1  Negro  Suffrage. 

Yes. 

No. 

Yes. 

No. 

Brown  and  Manitowoc . 

331 

165 

31 

356 

Calumet . 

Columbia . 

66 

354 

70 

267 

Crawford . 

‘  49 

150 

2 

153 

Chippewa  . 

Dane . 

592 

962 

291 

693 

Dodge . 

803 

975 

483 

444 

Fond  du  Lac . 

624 

627 

450 

399 

Grant  . 

532 

1,898 

93 

2,215 

Green . 

341 

607 

129 

628 

Iowa  ^ 

La  Fayette  f . 

1,444 

1,417 

69 

2,504 

Richland  ) 

Jefferson . 

780 

1,233 

1  598 

625 

La  Pointe . . 

Marquette . . . 

184 

189 

147 

140 

Milwaukee . 

1,670 

1,996 

616. 

1,832 

Portage . 

164 

209 

11 

2.53 

Racine . 

1,363 

2,474 

1,206 

763 

Rock . 

987 

1,977 

858 

994 

Sauk _ -. . 

111 

157 

.58 

143 

Sheboygan . 

160 

374 

145 

217 

St.  Croix . 

65 

61 

1 

126 

Walworth . 

984 

2,027 

1,094 

714 

Washington . 

1,478 

353 

84 

1,328 

Waukesha . 

1,246 

1,825 

1,107 

617 

Winnebago . 

137 

2  3 

12  L 

lu4 

Total . 

14,119 

20,233 

7,664 

14,615 

14,119 

7,664 

6,114 

i 

6,951 

^Davidson,  “Negro  Slavery  in  Wisconsin,”  Proc.  Wis.  Hist.  Soc,  .1892. 


122 


WISCONSIN  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 


There  were  the  most  populous  of  the  German  settlements, 
and  by  an  attempt  made  in  the  convention  of  1846  to 
couple  the  vote  on  foreign  suffrage  with  that  on  negro  suf¬ 
frage,  the  antagonism  of  the  Germans  was  aroused.'  The 
solid  strip  showing  majorities  for  it  can  easily  be  ac¬ 
counted  for  when  one  reflects  that  those  were  then  and 
are  still  the  counties  chiefly  settled  by  New  Englanders.- 

Toward  the  close  of  the  following  September,  the  gov¬ 
ernor  issued  a  proclamation,  calling  a  special  session  of  the 
legislature  for  the  18th  of  October,  the  prescribed  business 
being  to  take  action  in  relation  to  the  admission  of  the 
state  into  the  union,  and  to  adopt  such  other  measures  as  tlie 
public  good  might  require.’^  The  legislators  met  at  Madi¬ 
son,  and  in  a  ten  days’  session  provided  for  the  election  of 
sixty-nine  delegates  to  form  a  new  constitutional  conven¬ 
tion,  and  made  all  the  necessary  regulations  concerning 
their  election.  The  requirements  for  suffrage  were  the 
same  as  for  the  preceding  convention.'' 

The  second  convention  for  the  purpose  of  forming  a 
state  constitution  assembled  December  15,  1847.  The 
usual  routine  business  was  transacted  during  the  first  few 
days,  and  omthe  24th  of  December  the  committee  on  gen¬ 
eral  provisions  reported  the  article  on  suffrage,  with  the 
following  qualifications  for  voting: 

“  Section  1.  All  free  white  male  persons,  of  the  age  of 
twenty-one  years,  or  upwards,  belonging  to  any  of  the  fol¬ 
lowing  classes  of  persons,  shall  constitute  the  qualified  elec¬ 
tors  at  any  election  authorized  b}^  this  constitution  or  by 
any  law: 

“  1st.  Citizens  of  the  United  States,  who  at  the  time  of 
the  adoption  of  this  constitution  by  the  people  of  IViscon- 
sin  were  actual  residents  of  this  state. 

“2nd.  Citizens  of  the  United  States,  having  become  resi¬ 
dents  of  the  state  of  Wisconsin  after  the  adoption  of  this 

'  Wisconsin  Banner,  Milwaukee,  Oct.  17,  1816. 

2  Thwaites,  Story  of  Wisconsin,  p.  235. 

®  Madison  Weekly  Argus,  Sept.  28,  1817. 

Laws  of  Wisconsin,  October,  1817,  p.  3. 


THE  ELECTIVE  FRANCHISE  IN  WISCONSIN. 


123 


constitution,  and  who  shall  have  resided  within  this  state 
for  six  months. 

“  3rd.  Persons,  not  citizens  of  the  United  States,  who  at 
the  time  of  the  adoption  of  this  constitution  by  the  people 
w^ere  actual  residents  of  Wisconsin,  and  had  declared  their 
intention  to  become  citizens  of  the  United  States,  in  con¬ 
formity  with  the  laws  of  Congress  for  the  naturalization  of 
aliens,  and  who  shall  have  actually  resided  wdthin  this 
state  for  six  months. 

***  ***** 

"  Section  3.  No  person  under  guardianship,  or  non 
compos  mentis,  insane,  or  convicted  of  treason  or  felony, 
shall  be  permitted  to  vote  at  any  election,  unless  restored 
to  civil  rights  by  law’,  or  by  removal  of  natural  or  other 
inability.  ” ' 

Six  da3^s  later,  the  convention,  in  committee  of  the 
w’hole,  took  the  proposed  article  under  consideration.  It 
elicited  much  debate,  chiefly  on  two  provisions :  the  grant¬ 
ing  of  the  elective  franchise  to  unnaturalized  foreigners, 
and  to  the  negroes.  Judge  Dunn,  of  Lafayette,  offered  as 
an  amendment  to  the  committee’s  report,  this  substitute 
for  section  one:  “In  all  elections,  every  w’hite  male  citi¬ 
zen  above  the  age  of  twenty -one  years,  having  resided  in 
the  state  one  year  next  preceding  any  election,  shall  be 
entitled  to  vote  at  such  election;  and  every  wdiite  male 
inhabitant  of  the  age  aforesaid,  w’ho  may  be  a  resident  of 
the  state  at  the  time  of  the  adoption  of  this  constitution, 
shall  have  the  right  of  v’oting  aforesaid.  ”  ^ 

The  next  day  a  long  debate  on  the  subject  engaged  the 
attention  of  the  convention.  Dunn’s  sympathies  w’ere  with 
the  foreigners,  for  his  father  was  a  native  of  Ireland.^ 

The  majority,  how’ever,  opposed  it,  and  perhaps  the  report 
of  Mr.  Rountree’s  remarks  will  sum  up  the  view’s  of  the  ma¬ 
jority  who  voted  against  the  amendment:*  “Native  citizens 

’  Jour.  Const.  Conv.,  1847-48,  pp.  64,  65. 

-  Ibid.,  p.  145. 

^  Ibid.,  p.  147.  See  also,  Failiers  of  Wisconsin,  p.  204. 

Jour.  Const.  Conv.,  1847-48,  p,  179. 


124 


WISCONSIN  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 


were  required  to  reside  in  the  country  twenty-one  years  be¬ 
fore  being  allowed  to  vote.  He  had  not  heard  any  one,  not 
even  the  most  q^rogressive,  propose  to  shorten  the  term  of 
residence  required  of  the  native  citizen.  Ng  one  had 
moved  to  reduce  the  term  required  of  a  citizen  from  twenty- 
one  to  eighteen  or  sixteen  years;  and  yet  he  believed  that 
a  native  citizen  was  as  well  qualified  to  vote  understand-- 
ingly  after  a  residence  of  sixteen  or  eighteen  years  as  the 
foreigners  could  be  after  a  residence  of  five  years.” 

The  discussions  on  negro  suffrage  are  more  interesting, 
and  particularly  when  considered  in  connection  with  the 
popular  vote  on  the  subject  the  spring  before.  Mr.  Esta- 
brook,  of  Walworth,  first  broached  the  subject  by  moving 
to  insert  a  section  granting  universal  suffrage  to  all  in  the 
Territory,  and  leaving  the  further  regulation  of  the  matter  to 
law.V  He  said,  in  introducing  it:  ‘‘Among  the  resolutions 
passed  by  the  whig  convention  of  that  [Walworth]  county 
one  year  ago  last  fall,  was  one  instructing  their  delegates  to 
go  for  universal  suffrage,  etc.,  and  he  had  good  reason  to  be¬ 
lieve  that  one  half  of  the  democratic  party  of  that  county 
were  in  favor  of  the  same  principle.  ”  ^  Mr.  Estabrook 
came  of  Puritan  ancestry,  and  it  is  said  that  he  ‘‘took  a 
position  far  in  advance  of  his  party  at  that  time,”®  partic¬ 
ularly,  it  seems  to  me,  in  his  later  speeches. 

,A  motion  to  strike  out  the  word  ‘‘  white  ”  was  lost 
(22  to  45),^  but  Mr.  Estabrook,  who  had  voted  against  strik¬ 
ing  out  ‘‘white,”  offered  an  amendment  adding  this  pro¬ 
viso:  "Provided,  however.  That  the  legislature  shall  at  any 
time  have  the  power  to  admit  colored  persons  to  the  right 
of  suffrage  on  such  terms  and  under  such  restrictions  as 
may  be  determined  by  law.  ”  ®  He  said,  in  explanation  of 
his  motion,  that  ‘‘when  he  first  came  to  this  Territory, 
seven  years  ago,  a  corpora  ’s  guard  could  not  be  found  to 

p.  130. 

-  Ibid.,  p.  130. 

^Fathers  of  Wisconsin,  p.  212, 

''Jour.  Const.  Conv.,  1817-18,  p.  115. 

^  Ibid.,  p.  ISO. 


THE  ELECTIVE  FRANCHISE  IN  WISCONSIN. 


125 


A 

favor  colored  suffrage.  Since  then  the  mind  had 

been  progressing.  -Last  spring  the  county  of  Walworth 
gave  about  four  hundred  majority  in  favor  of  it;  Racine 
gave  a  majority  for  it;  Rock  and  Milwaukee  gave  a.  large 
vote  for  it;  and  Waukesha  gave  a  majority  in  favor  of  it; 
and  what  he  asked  was,  that  when  the  public  mind  had 
advanced  to  a  point  where  a  majority  should  be  in  favor  of 
abolishing  this  odious  distinction,  that  then  that  majority 
should  not  be  bound,  hand  and  foot,  by  constitutional  pro¬ 
hibitions.  The  amendment  was  adopted  by  a  vote  of  35 
to  34,“  but  the  following  day  it  was  reconsidered  (34  to  35).-^ 
Three  projects  were  submitted  for  the  future  admission  of 
colored  men  to  i^articipation  in  the  rights  of  citizenship;^ 
a  fourth,  which  was  finally  adopted,  omitted  the  word 
“colored”  and  substituted  therefor  “persons  not  herein 
mentioned,”  as  likely  to  be  more  acceptable  to  the  people.^ 
The  people  of  the  state  voted  in  1849  to  extend  the  right 
of  suffrage  to  colored  people.  The  validity  of  the  amend¬ 
ment  was  contested,  and  it  was  not  till  1866  —  seventeen 
years  later  —  that  the  courts  sustained  its  binding  force.® 
Almost  any  old  citizen  of  Wisconsin  can  cite  .  instances 
w’here  colored  men,  although  not  legally  entitled  to  vote, 
voted  regularly;  and  a  Milwaukee  newspaper,  a  few  months 
ago,  recorded  the  death  of  a  negro  who  had  been  on  a  jury 
before  the  War  of  Secession.  The  colored  j)opulatioii  of 
Wisconsin  has  always  been  so  small  that  the  question  has 
simply  been  one  of  principle. 

The  entire  article  on  suffrage,  as  it  stood  in  the  consti¬ 
tution  until  1882,  passed  in  the  convention  by  a  vote  of 
52  to  13.'  By  it  all  white  citizens  of  the  United  States,  white 

’  Ibid;  p.  183. 

2  Ibid;  p.  180. 

^  Ibid;  p.  185. 

^  p.  201. 

Ibid;  p.  201.  It  may  be  interesting  to  note  here  that  in  1886  suffrage 
was,  under  this  provision,  granted  to  women  in  school  elections.  (Laws 
of  WiS;  1885,  ch.  211.) 

®See  Turner,  The  Gerrymander  in  IEi.scoji.sm  (2nd  ed.,  p.  8). 

’‘Jour.  Const.  ConV;  1817-18,  p.  210. 


126 


WISCONSIN  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 


persons  of  foreign  birth  who  had  declared  their  intentions, 
persons  of  Indian  blood  who  had  once  been  declared  citi¬ 
zens  of  the  United  States,  any  subsequent  law  of  Congress 
to  the  contrary  notwithstanding,  and  civilized  persons  of 
Indian  descent,  not  members  of  any  tribe,  were  entitled  to 
vote;  and  all  must  have  had  a  residence  of  one  year  in  the 
Territory.^  The  following  classes  were  excluded:  persons 
under  guardianship,  non  compos  mentis,  or  insane,  persons 
convicted  of  bribery,  larceny,  or  any  infamous  crime,  and 
those  interested  in  bets  or  wagers  on  the  election,^  In  1882 
the  section  was  amended,  and  a  residence  in  the  election 
district  was  thereafter  required.  The  actual  time  is  ten 
days,  but  the  legislature  can  not  require  more  than  thirty 
days.  A  proviso  was  also  added,  giving  the  legislature 
power  to  “  provide  for  the  registration  of  electors  and  pre¬ 
scribe  proper  rules  and  regulations  therefor,”  in  incorpo-V; 

rated  cities  and  villaares. 

« _ > 

On  March  13,  1848,  the  Territorial  legislature  adjourned 
sine  die,  and  on  the  same  day  the  constitution  of  the  new 
state  was  ratified  by  popular  vote.^ 

The  state  officers  made  elective  by  the  constitution,  and 
by  subsequent  acts  of  the  legislature,  at  the  present  time 
are:  governor,  lieutenant-governor,  secretary  of  state, 
state  treasurer,  attorney-general,  state  superintendent  of 
schools,^  railroad  commissioner,-^  insurance  commissioner, 
state  senators,  and  members  of  the  assembly."  In  the 
county,  the  people  elect  their  clerk,®  treasurer,®  sher¬ 
iff,^®  coroner,'^  clerk  of  the  circuit  court, register  of 

'  Constitution  of  Wisconsin,  art.  iii.,  sec.  1. 

^  Ibid.,  sec.  6. 

2  Strong,  p.  582. 

Constitution  of  Wisconsin,  art.  v.,  sec.  1. 

^  Laws  of  Wisconsin,  1874,  ch.  273,  sec.  8;  Id.,  1881,  ch.  300. 

Id.,  1878,  ch.  214;  Id.,  1881,  ch.  300. 

Constitution  of  Wisconsin,  art.  iv.,  sec.  4. 

^  Ibid.,  sec.  5. 

®  Sanborn  &  Berryman,  Annotated  Statutes,  sec.  698,  p.  430. 

Ibid.,  same  reference. 

Constitution  of  Wisconsin,  art.  vi.,  sec.  4. 

Ibid.,  same  reference. 


THE  ELECTIVE  FRANCHISE  IN  WISCONSIN. 


127 


deeds/  district  attorney/  surveyor/  superintendent  of 
schools/  and  members  of  the  board  of  supervisors.®  In 
the  towns,  are  elected  members  of  the  town  board  of  su¬ 
pervisors,  the  clerk,  treasurer,  assessor,  four  constables, 
four  justices  of  the  peace  (two  annually),®  and  the  over¬ 
seers  of  highways,  which  last  need  not  be  elected  by 
ballot/  In  the  cities,  are  elected  the  mayor,  aldermen,  and 
city  treasurer,  while  each  'ward  elects  its  justices  of  the 
peace,  and  sends  its  supervisor  to  the  county  board. 
All  the  judges  in  the  state  are  elected.  The  five  justices 
of  the  supreme  court  are  elected  for  ten  years,  the  seven¬ 
teen  circuit  judges  for  six  years,  and  the  several  county 
judges  hold  office  for  four  years.  The  constitution  pro¬ 
vides  that  “There  shall  be  no  election  for  a  judge  or  judges 
at  any  general  election  for  state  or  county  officers, 
nor  within  thirty  days  either  before  or  affer  such  elections.  ”  ® 

Amendments  to  the  constitution  may  be  made  in  two 
ways:  by  the  legislature  and  by  county  conventions,^  but 
only  the  first  method  has  ever  been  used. 

“The  process  of  amending  the  constitution  by  the  legis¬ 
lature  is  as  follo'ws: 

“1.  An  amendment  may  be  proposed  in  either  house. 

“2.  The  vote  must  be  taken  by  yeas  and  nays. 

“3.  The  proposed  amendment  must  be  agreed  to  by  a 
majority  of  all  the  members  elected  to  each  house. 

“4.  It  must  be  published  for  three  months  before  the 
next  general  election. 

“  5.  It  must  be  agreed  to  by  a  majority  of  all  the  mem¬ 
bers  of  each  house  in  the  next  legislature. 

“6.  It  must  be  submitted  to  the  people. 

’  Ihid.,  art.  vi.,  sec.  4. 

^  Ibid.y  art.  vii.,  sec  12. 

®  Sanborn  &  Berryman,  sec.  G98,  p.  430. 

Constitution  of  Wisconsin,  art.  x.,  sec.  1. 

®  Sanborn  &  Berryman,  sec.  662,  p.  412. 

^  Ibid.,  sec.  808,  pp.  480,  481. 

^  Ibid.,  sec.  797,  p.  478. 

®  Constitution  of  Wisconsin,  art.  vii.,  sec.  9. 

^  Ibid.,  art.  xii.,  secs.  1,  2. 


128 


WISCONSIN  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 


‘‘  7.  It  must  have  a  majority  of  all  votes  cast  on  that 
subject.  ”  ^ 

The  constitution  has  been  amended  in  this  way  thirteen 
times,-  and  several  times  the  legislature  has  proposed 
amendments  which  the  people  have  failed  to  ratify.® 

The  first  law  looking  towards  the  adoption  of  the  Aus¬ 
tralian  ballot  system  was  passed  in  1887.  This  applied 
only  to  Milwaukee,  and  enacted  that  each  voting  precinct 
was  to  be  provided  with  two  adjoining  rooms  —  a  ticket 
room  an  d  an  inspector’s  room.  In  the  ticket  room  were  to 
be  tables  or  compartments,  on  or  in  which  were  to  be 
placed  the  tickets  prepared  by  the  different  parties.  At 
each  table  or  compartment  was  to  be  a  custodian  of  tick¬ 
ets,  appointed  by  the  ward  committee  issuing  the  ticket 
there  displayed.  These  custodians  were  under  oath  not  to 
attempt  to  influence  the  electors.  The  manner  of  voting 
prescribed  was  as  follows:  a  voter  entered  the  ticket 
room,  and  selected  a  ticket  or  tickets  (for  he  could  take 
one  of  each  sort  if  he  wished).  He  then  passed  into  the 
voting  room,  cast  his  ballot,  and  passed  out  through  an¬ 
other  door.  No  crowd  could  collect  within  one  hundred 
feet,  and  no  one  could  solicit  votes  or  offer  tickets  within 
the  same  limit.^ 

This  law,  while  good,  missed  two  essential  points  of  the 
present  system,  i.  e.,  complete  and  compulsory  secrecy  in 
voting,  and  a  single  ballot  containing  all  the  names  printed 
and  distributed  by  the  government. 

In  April,  1889,  what  was  known  as  the  “Cooper  law” 
was  passed  without  a  dissenting  voice  in  either  branch  of 

1  Wright,  Exposition  of  the  Constitution  of  Wisconsin^  p.  150. 

2  The  articles  and  sections  amended  are  as  follows:  Art.  iv.,  sec.  21, 
Nov.  5,  1867;  art.  v.,  secs.  5  and  9,  Nov.  2,  186^ ;  art.  i.,  sec.  8,  Nov.  8,  1870; 
art.  iv.,  secs.  31  and  32,  Nov.  7,  1871;  art.  xi.,  sec.  3,  Nov.  3,  1874;  art.  vii., 
sec.  4,  Nov.  6, 1877;  art.  viii.,  sec.  2,  Nov.  6,  1877;  art.  iii.,  sec.  1,  Nov.  7, 
1882;  art.  iv.,  secs.  4,  5,  IJ,  and  21,  Nov.  8, 1881;  art.  vi.,  sec.  4,  Nov.  7, 1882; 
art.  xiii.,  sec.  1,  Nov.  7,  1882^  art.  vii.,  sec.  4,  April  2,  1889;  and  art.  iv.,  sec. 
31,  April  8, 1892.  • 

^  See  Wisconsin  Blue  Books,  1870-75, 1877. 

^  Laws  of  Wisconsin,  1887,  ch.  850. 


THE  ELECTIVE  FRANCHISE  IN  WISCONSIN.  1 29 

the  legislature.  Its  provisions,  however,  did  not  apply  to 
Milwaukee  or  to  elections  fo?’  town  and  village  officers. 
It  was  entitled,  ‘‘An  act  to  prevent  espionage  at  public 
elections,  to  secure  more  fully  the  independence  of  voters,  to 
enforce  the  secrecy  of  the  ballot,  and  to  provide  for  print¬ 
ing  and  distributing  ballots  at  public  expense.”  Under  this 
act,  a  nomination  might  be  made  in  two  w^ays:  by  a  conven¬ 
tion  or  primary  meeting,  and  by  the  circulation  of  a  nomina¬ 
tion  paper.  The  nomination  papers  of  all  candidates  were 
to  be  filed  with  the  county  clerk  between  forty  and  twenty 
days  before  the  election, —  or  with  the  secretary  of  state 
when  the  offices  were  to  be  filled  by  the  electors  of  the 
entire  state,  or  a  district  greater  than  a  county.  Between 
fifteen  and  twenty  days  before  the  election,  the  secretary  of 
state  was  to  send  to  the  county  clerks  a  list  of  the  candidates 
for  the  state  at  large,  and  for  districts  larger  than  a 
county.  At  least  seven  days  before  the  election,  the 
county  clerk  was  to  publish  ‘‘Information  to  voters,”  in  at 
least  two  and  not  more  than  four  local  papers  of  different 
political  principles,  and  also  to  have  large  cards  printed  in 
English,  and  such  other  languages  as  he  deemed  necessary, 
giving  instructions  to  electors  in  the  preparation  of  their 
ballots.  In  cities,  all  election  information  was  to  be  fur¬ 
nished  to  the  public  by  the  city  clerk.  No  particular  form 
was  prescribed  for  the  ballots,  further  than  that  they  were 
to  be  printed  on  a  certain  grade  of  paper,  and  could  not 
be  more  than  13^  inches  long  nor  less  than  twelve  inches 
wide.  Before  delivering  the  blank  ballot  paper  to  the 
voter,  the  two  ballot  clerks  were  each  to  write  their  names 
or  initials  upon  the  back.  The  elector  then  retired  to 
one  of  the  several  compartments,  or  stalls,  in  the  booth, 
marked  the  ballot  according  to  printed  instructions  before 
him,'  folded  it  so  that  the  face  was  concealed,  and  depos¬ 
ited  it  in  the  box.'  This  act  was  amended  in  a  few  par¬ 
ticulars  the  same  session.^ 

At  the  next  session  of  the  legislature,  an  additional  act 


^  Laws  of  ILTscoMsiii,  1889,  ch.  248. 
2  Ibid.,  ch.  494. 


3 


0112  11 


5489194 


130  ^YISCONSIX  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

was  passed.  It  did  not  apply  to  town  or  village  elections, 
nor  to  elections  in  cities  having  a  population  of  fifty  thou¬ 
sand  or  more, —  the  intent  being,  of  course,  to  exclude 
Milwaukee,  the  only  Wisconsin  city  having  a  population 
as  great  as  this.  The  form  of  the  ballot  was  prescribed 
more  definitely  in  this  act.  Provision  was  also  made  for 
the  appointment  of  two  party  agents  for  each  polling 
place,  “to  act  as  challengers  for  their  respective  parties 
and  candidates,  and  to  observe  the  proceedings  of  election 
ofiicers.”  ' 

In  1893  an  act  was  passed,  “To  consolidate  and  revise 
the  statutes  of  the  state  relating  to  general  elections,  to 
conduct  and  canvass  returns  of  the  same,  and  to  secure  the 
secrecy  and  purity  of  the  ballot,  and  for  other  purposes,’' 
and  its  provisions  applj^  to  all  cities,  towns  and  counties  in 
the  state.  It  went  into  effect  July  1,  1893,  and  does  not 
differ  very  greatly  from  the  acts  alread}^  described.® 

While  the  history  of  the  elective  franchise  in  Wisconsin 
is  not  a  record  of  great  changes,  like  those  to  which  suf¬ 
frage  has  been  subjected  in  the  older  states,  it  is  never¬ 
theless  of  interest  to  note  the  effect  of  a  new  environment 
on  old  subjects.  The  Eastern  states  settled,  one  by  one, 
the  question  of  property  qualification,  of  color,  etc.,  in  the 
early  years  of  the  century.  Wisconsin,  born  at  its  merid¬ 
ian,  in  working  out  these  questions  brought  to  bear  on 
them  Eastern  prejudices  modified  by  the  conditions  of 
Western  life. 

’  Id.,  1891,  ch.  379.  The  ballot  is,  by  law,  reproduced  in  facsimile  in 
the  official  election  notices  in  the  local  newspapers,  just  preceding  a  gen¬ 
eral  election. 

Laws  of  Wisconsin,  1893,  ch.  2S8. 


